Cover for bottle carriers



Aug. 3, 1954 R. GUYER COVER FORBOTTLE CARRIERS Filed Sept. 22, 1951INVEI'QTOR Fez maids Gal er ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 3, 1954 COVER FORBOTTLE CARRIERS Reynolds Guyer, St. Paul, Minn., assignor to WaldorfPaper Products Company, St. Paul, Minn., a corporation of MinnesotaApplication September 22, 1951, Serial No. 247,848

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a cover for bottle carriers designed tooverlie the upper portions of the bottles contained therein.

Beverages are often sold in carriers accommodating a plurality ofbottles most commonly six in number. Certain such carriers compriserectangularly arranged side walls having a bottom closure, an open top,and a central partition unit. The central partition unit is ordinarilyprovided with a hand hole therethrough by means of which the carrier maybe engaged and carried. When such carriers are used for malt liquors,such as beer, some producers claim that the bottles containing theliquid must be protected from direct light. The present invention isprovided to serve as a cover for carriers of the type described andserve to prevent direct light from entering the carrier.

An object of the present invention lies in the provision of a bottlecarrier cover preferably formed of fibrous material such as molded pulpor the like. As the bottle carriers often do not extend the full heightof the bottles, the cover is provided with upwardly directed pockets foraccommodating the upper ends of the bottles contained. These pocketshold the upper ends of the bottles in properly spaced relation andaccordingly assist in protecting the bottles from contacting one anotherwithin the carrier during transportation.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a bottlecarrier cover having a hinged flap thereupon which may be hinged out ofits normal plane to accommodate the hand of a person carrying thecarrier. The flap is preferably arranged on one side of the center ofthe cover so that the hand may extend on one side of the centralpartition to extend through the hand hole therein.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a coverfor a bottle carrier having a series of upwardly directed pockets forcontaining the upper extremities of a series of bottles and inelongating the pockets designed to contain the upper ends of the centerbottles so that these center bottles may be tilted away from each otherto some extent. In carriers of the type in question the bottles oneither side of the central partition are spaced only by this partitionand it is accordingly difficult to extend the hand between the bottleswithout tilting them outwardly to some extent. By elongating the centralpockets in a direction at right angles to the plane of the centralpartition it is possible for the center bottles to either stand erect orto between the side walls I0 and H.

2 tilt outwardly one from the other so as to permit the hand to readilygrasp the bottles.

An added feature of the present invention resides in the provision of acover for a bottle carrier formed of soft flexible material which willflex somewhat under pressure to better accommodate a human hand betweencertain of the pockets. One of the central pockets adjoining the openingfor the hand is so arranged that it may readily flex inwardly ifnecessary to accommodate the hand.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of acover for a bottle carrier which will protect the hand from injury dueto contact with the caps of the bottles. Bottle caps of the typecommonly employed have a fluted 'or corrugated skirt which tends toscrape against the hand of a person carrying an'uncovered bottlecarrier. By enclosing the upper ends of the bottles in pockets, the capscannot contact the hand of the person carrying the bottles.

These and other objects and novel features of my invention will be moreclearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bottle carrier showing the cover inplace thereupon.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the structure illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view through the carrier, the position of thesection being indicated by the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view showing the construction thereof.

As the particular type of bottle carrier A which is employed is not ofgreat importance in the present arrangement, it will not be described inany great detail. It is believed sufiicient to note that the carrier inquestion is shown as having side walls In and H and end walls l2 and I3connecting these side walls. A bottom 14 is provided at the lower end ofthe side walls and is preferably integral with certain thereof. Acentral partition member id is also illustrated This partition member [5is connected in some manner to the remaining structure so that an upwardforce thereupon will be transmitted to others of the walls. A hand holeIt is provided through the central partition member [5 near the upperextremity thereof by means of which the carrier may be lifted.

In the preferred form of construction the center partition wall I5 isslightly below the level of the side and end walls so that a cover mayrest upon the top of the partition wall and may be confined within theside and end walls. Alternatively, a flange may be provided on the coverB encircling the periphery of the body and extending down into thecarrier.

The cover B is preferably made of molded pulp or some similar materialwhich is low in cost and which is flexible to some degree. This coverincludes a cover panel I9 of proper shape to fit within the side and endwalls of the carrier A. This cover panel 19 is provided with fourupwardly projecting inverted pockets of a generally irusto-conicalshape. These pockets are arranged in two pairs, the pockets 20 and 2|being arranged on opposite sides of the center partition panel and beingsubstantially one-sixth of the distance between the end walls 12 and I3from the ends of the cover panel l9. Obviously when the carrier isdesigned to carry six bottles equally spaced the pockets must bearranged in the manner illustrated to accommodate the upwardlyprojecting necks 22 of the bottle C. A second pair of upwardly directedpockets are illustrated at 23 and 24, these pockets also being equallyspaced on opposite sides of the center partition and centrally betweenthe center partition and the side Walls and H. The pockets are alsolocated substantially one-sixth of the length of the cover panel I!)from the end of the cover panel most closely adjacent the end wall [3.

A third pair of upwardly directed pockets are disclosed at 25 and 26 andare intermediate be tween the end pairs of pockets. Thus the pocket 25is mid-way between the pockets and 23 while the pocket 26 is midwaybetween the pockets 2| and 25. As indicated in Figure 2 of the drawings, the pockets and 26 are transversely elongated rather thanfrusto-conical in shape and are designed to come close to the caps 21 ofthe bottles C to prevent these caps from moving in a direction towardeither end wall 12 or 13. The ends of the elongated pockets 25 and 26closest to the center of the body [9 is longitudinally aligned with theend pockets. Thus when all of the bottles C are standing erect in themanner shown in full lines in Figure 3 of the drawings, the caps 21 ofthe bottles will be positioned at the inner or closest ends of thepockets. However, the pockets 25 and 26 extend laterally more closelyadjacent the side walls In and II of the carrier than the frusto-conicalpockets first described. As a result the center bottles C on oppositesides of the central partition [5 may tilt outwardly at their upper endsas indicated in dotted outline in Figure 3 of the drawings so that thehand of a person carrying the carrier may extend between these centerbottles C.

A hand hole 29 is formed in the body l9. This hand hole is preferablyprovided with a flap 38 hinged thereto along the fold line 3! which isarranged substantially centrally of the body 19. This flap is normallyin the plane of the body 19 during storage. However, when it is desiredto use the carrier, the flap 30 is pushed downwardly in a right angularrelation with the body 30, this flap then extending alongside of thepartition wall I 5. The hand may then be inserted through the hand hole29, the fingers engaging the center bottles C and spreading them apartsomewhat at their upper ends to provide room for the hand. This actionis possible because of the elongated shape of the pockets 25 and 26.

It will be noted that the edge of the hand hole opposite the edge towhich the flap 30 is hinged may be cut at 32 to extend around the lowerend of the rounded pocket 26. As a result this pocket 26 may extendslightly into the aperture Or hand hole 29 when the flap 30 is foldeddownwardly. The relatively soft material of which the cover is formedmay be bent outwardly at this point without injury or without harmingthe hand so as to provide the necessary room for the hand to enter.

It will be noted that the cover B effectively covers the bottles andprotects them from direct light. At the same time the cover provides aminimum of interference when it becomes desirable to lift the carrier byengaging the hand hole I6 of the center partition 15.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principlesof construction and operation of my cover for bottle carriers, and whileI have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire tohave it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope ofthe following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A bottle carrier cover including a flat sheet of molded pulp havingtwo parallel rows of upwardly directed pockets, each row including threepockets, the pockets of each row being opposite the pockets of the otherrow, the two opposed pockets at each end of the rows being shaped toclosely encircle the top of a bottle and to prevent tilting thereof, thecenter opposed pockets being elongated in a direction away from oneanother to permit the bottle tops engaged therein to tilt away from eachother, and a hand hole between the center opposed pockets.

2. A bottle carrier cover including a flat sheet of molded pulp havingtwo parallel rows of upwardly directed pockets, each row including atleast one intermediate pocket and end pockets, the pockets of each rowbeing opposite the pockets of the other row, the end pockets of each rowbeing shaped to closely encircle the top of a bottle and to preventtilting thereof, the intermediate pockets being elongated in' adirection away from one another to permit the bottle tops engagedtherein to tilt away from each other, and a hard hole between theintermediate pockets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,193,128 Doll Aug. 1, 1916 1,913,650 White June 13, 19332,077,047 Kendolf Apr. 13, 1937 2,176,275 Pierce Oct. 17, 1939 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 452,143 Great Britain 1936

